About

$112,362

pledged of $20,000 goal

522

backers

THANK YOU!! We reached our new $100,000 goal with just a few more days left. We're excited that YOUR support has enabled us to hire two people and open an office to expand into Rwanda. Rwanda, here we come!!

New Update: If you want a 2nd solar panel, add $95 to your pledge. If you want a 3rd solar panel, add $85 (total $180 for 2 solar panels). Be sure to send us a note too so we can keep track on our end!

GOOD - "The Solar Charging Kit for Africa You Want for Your Own Home."

Inhabitat - "The ReadySet charger is great for everyday use, but it’s even handier during times of need – especially following natural disasters."

GigaOM - “Disclosure: I just bought one. I’ve wanted one since I first wrote about the company back in 2010. My dream is to spend a full day blogging in the park, using the battery power and the solar panel.”

The ReadySet is a renewable energy system that charges from solar panels and can power lights, radios, cell phones, tablets, and even Wi-Fi hot spots. The ReadySet's intelligent battery can charge up to10 iPhones, or power an iPad for over 12 hours of continuous video-play and can recharge from the included solar panel in just a few hours. Designed originally for Africa, the ReadySet is rugged and easy to use and now available here to power a tailgate, camping trip or for use in case of an emergency. You can even go on a carbon-diet and try to power all of your electronics from renewable energy at home.

Beyond solar, the ReadySet's smart electronics and firmware allow you to charge from virtually any source such as solar panels, bicycle generators, micro-wind turbines, and more. The ReadySet's sleek yet simple design allows you to use this energy and power all kinds of devices from its two open standard 12-volt Car Lighter Adapter ports and two 5-volt USB ports.

We’re giving the first 100 people a $100 discount off the $300 retail price to kickstart sales and help us bring the ReadySet to the U.S.! For those who missed our early bird special there's no need to worry. Kickstarters can still receive discounts of $75, $50 or $25 off the $300 U.S. retail price as a special thanks, and you'll receive it before it hits the stores.

Where is this money going? Each unit sold in the U.S. will help us expand our efforts in Africa. The funds will be used to support R&D and Manufacturing, and to grow our developer community so that together we can design new game-changing power solutions and applications for the ReadySet that will benefit both our customers here in the U.S. and in Africa. We’ll publish some our technical specifications (what we're calling a "Power API") so that Makers and Hackers can start creating their own charging solutions and devices (solar concentrators, wind turbines, H20 purifiers, vaccine refrigerators)!

A nice thing about the ReadySet is that it empowers you to go on a carbon-diet, giving you the option to charge your iPad, iPhone, Android, and other electronic devices with solar power. Now you can live off-the-grid (well partially) without having to actually move to a place without grid electricity.

The ReadySet is great to bring on your next outdoor adventure from camping in the woods to hanging out in the park or lounging by the pool. You can charge devices including lights to brighten your campground, ebooks to catch up on summer reading, MP3 players to listen to music, and even mobile phones so you can stay connected. Though we'll leave it up to you if you really want to be connected...it might be good for you to get away for a bit.

The ReadySet is also a perfect addition to your home and work emergency preparedness kits in case you’re ever caught in an earthquake, hurricane, or snowstorm. Of course, we hope this never happens to you, but living in San Francisco has definitely taught us that being prepared is a good thing. If you have a ReadySet, you can power a pocket radio to stay updated on the weather and latest emergency-related news as well as light bulbs, mobile phones, and even a Wi-Fi hot spot.

We designed the ReadySet with an open standard input (bind posts and banana plugs) so that it will work with alternative sources of power generation. We also chose open standard outputs (12v Car Lighter Adapter and 5v USB) so that hardware developers can create new applications, including anything from UV water purifiers to Vaccine Refrigerators. Above is a photo of a micro-wind turbine that our interns built last summer. If we get funded, we’ll be able to publish some technical specifications and launch an online community to support hardware development, so stay tuned.

Also in response to your questions, we've included a photo highlighting the technical specifications for our solar panels.

If you’re thinking about mounting your solar panel, check out this diagram that one of our engineers drew. It shows you where the mounting holes are!

Here are photos of the ReadySet Solar Kit in its box! We ship these to Africa so it's definitely packed well with the solar panel resting on top and the ReadySet and accessories below.

We’ve been getting many questions about how long it takes to charge a ReadySet with two solar panels so we decided to do a quick test. We captured real world performance (that’s based on a sunny day in San Francisco) data from solar panels and ReadySets. We then "played back" those conditions on our battery testing equipment (Cadex C8000), which essentially allows us to test quickly without worrying about rain, clouds and night hours.

Here is what we found:

It’s important to note that when charging batteries (AGM, Lithium, etc.), the last 20% of the charge cycle is always the slowest. This is because the battery reaches its maximum charge voltage which forces the charge rate to slow down. In the graph below, you can see this happen when the line begins to curve, making an arc.

This is why, when in full sun, doubling your solar panel size will not halve the charge time but rather two solar panels will be closer to half the time necessary to reach an 80% charge. In partial sun (e.g. overcast, dawn, dusk), the second panel really shines. If solar conditions on the ground are half as bright as a full sunny day, charge rates will be cut in half. As you can see here though, 3 panels will get you the maximum charge rate for your ReadySet! Note that one ReadySet has a lifetime of over 700 charge cycles.

If you like the idea of renewable energy, and we hope you do, please share our Kickstarter project with your friends and family, and visit us on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for your time and consideration!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $95 or more
About $95

Get a 15-watt Solar Panel to double your ReadySet recharge speed. Shipping is included (USA only). If you’ve already pledged a different bucket and don’t want to lose your spot, then just add $95 or more to your current pledge and send us note.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,220 or more
About $1,220

GROUP RATE! Get FIVE awesome ReadySet Solar Kits. You can leave one at home, bring one to work, keep one in the car, build and power that awesome tree house you've always wanted, and supe up your dog’s house with disco lights and a stereo. Neighborhood dog party? Shipping is included (USA only).

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $10,000
About $10,000

Come with us on a 5-day Safari in East Africa! We’ll see the beauty of Africa first hand and travel to rural villages where you'll meet ReadySet power entrepreneurs and learn about the challenges of living off-the-grid. Airfare and accommodations for one person are included. And of course, we’ll send you a ReadySet Solar Kit too!